Vinva Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in W.W. Grainger were worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 111.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 38 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GWW. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,113.00 to $1,112.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut W.W. Grainger from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,125.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,151.50.

W.W. Grainger Price Performance

Shares of W.W. Grainger stock opened at $973.46 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a twelve month low of $874.98 and a twelve month high of $1,227.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,039.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,075.42.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $9.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.75 by ($0.04). W.W. Grainger had a return on equity of 52.43% and a net margin of 11.12%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 earnings per share for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. W.W. Grainger’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

W.W. Grainger Profile

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.